Kansas State University Athletics
Archibong, Nembhard Earn Big 12 Weekly Awards
Oct 06, 2020 | Volleyball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Driving K-State to a pair of five-set road wins over West Virginia last week, Abigail Archibong was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week while Jayden Nembhard was tabbed Big 12 Rookie of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Archibong tallied a career-high 10 total blocks (9 assists, 1 solo) in the Wildcats' comeback win over the Mountaineers last Thursday, the first double-digit block effort in the Big 12 this season and first by a Wildcat since the 2018 season (Macy Flowers). The redshirt sophomore middle blocker added six more block assists, for a weekly average of 1.60 blocks per set.
Archibong's performance catapulted her into second in the conference with a season average of 1.32 blocks per set. Her 25 total blocks on the season are the tops in the Big 12 and rank third nationally. K-State registered 15 and 13 team blocks, respectively, in sweeping WVU for the first time since 2016, limiting the Mountaineers to a .185 during the two-match road series.
Nembhard, in her first extended action for the Cats, registered a league-best total of 43 kills (4.30 per set) over two matches. Thursday, the true freshman outside hitter put down 24 kills – the highest single-match output in the league this year – while hitting at a .389 clip. She followed up that performance with 19 more kills Friday, tied for the second-highest match total in the Big 12 this season.
The Keller, Texas, product added eight total blocks and five digs and turned in a hitting efficiency of .306 in the two-match series. Nembhard now sits in third on the Big 12 season leaderboard in both kills per set (3.91) and points per set (4.27).
Both Archibong and Nembhard collect the first weekly conference honors of their respective careers and the 56th and 57th player-of-the-week awards in head coach Suzie Fritz's tenure.
K-State enters an off week before returning to action on Friday, October 16, when it will host Texas at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. The Wildcats and Longhorns will conclude the two-match set on Saturday, October 17 at 6 :30 p.m., with both matches taking place at Bramlage Coliseum.
Archibong tallied a career-high 10 total blocks (9 assists, 1 solo) in the Wildcats' comeback win over the Mountaineers last Thursday, the first double-digit block effort in the Big 12 this season and first by a Wildcat since the 2018 season (Macy Flowers). The redshirt sophomore middle blocker added six more block assists, for a weekly average of 1.60 blocks per set.
Archibong's performance catapulted her into second in the conference with a season average of 1.32 blocks per set. Her 25 total blocks on the season are the tops in the Big 12 and rank third nationally. K-State registered 15 and 13 team blocks, respectively, in sweeping WVU for the first time since 2016, limiting the Mountaineers to a .185 during the two-match road series.
Nembhard, in her first extended action for the Cats, registered a league-best total of 43 kills (4.30 per set) over two matches. Thursday, the true freshman outside hitter put down 24 kills – the highest single-match output in the league this year – while hitting at a .389 clip. She followed up that performance with 19 more kills Friday, tied for the second-highest match total in the Big 12 this season.
The Keller, Texas, product added eight total blocks and five digs and turned in a hitting efficiency of .306 in the two-match series. Nembhard now sits in third on the Big 12 season leaderboard in both kills per set (3.91) and points per set (4.27).
Both Archibong and Nembhard collect the first weekly conference honors of their respective careers and the 56th and 57th player-of-the-week awards in head coach Suzie Fritz's tenure.
K-State enters an off week before returning to action on Friday, October 16, when it will host Texas at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. The Wildcats and Longhorns will conclude the two-match set on Saturday, October 17 at 6 :30 p.m., with both matches taking place at Bramlage Coliseum.
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